Use of pre-processed foods, both in homes and in restaurants, has created a demand for effective high-capacity automated food processing equipment. That demand is particularly evident with respect to hamburgers, molded steaks, fish cakes, and other molded food patties.
Food processors utilize high-speed molding machines, such as FORMAX®, MAXUM700®, F-6™, F-12™, F-19™, F-26™, or F-400™ reciprocating mold plate forming machine, available from Formax, Inc. of Mokena, Ill., U.S.A., for supplying patties to the fast food industry. High-speed molding machines are also described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,887,964; 4,372,008; 4,356,595; 4,821,376; 4,996,743, and published U.S. Patent Application 2005/0092187, U.S. Ser. No. 10/942,627 filed Sep. 16, 2004.
The FORMAX® F-26™ reciprocating mold plate forming machine has enjoyed widespread commercial success for over 35 years. A typical FORMAX® F-26™ molding machine can operate at 90 strokes per minute and produce about 32,400 patties per hour based on the standard width mold plate for the F-26™ which is about 27 inches wide and can include 6 mold cavities.
The mold plate for the FORMAX® F-26™ is mounted to the reciprocating driving mechanism by being keyed to a drawbar that is driven at opposite ends by the longitudinally reciprocating drive rods of the driving mechanism. The mold plate includes three spaced apart cylindrical holes that receive pins that are fixed to the drawbar. Side locks or cams rotate to overlie side recesses formed in the mold plate.
The FORMAX® MAXUM700® reciprocating mold plate patty forming machine was introduced in 2003. It is a larger machine that can operate at 120 strokes per minute and produce about 43,200 patties per hour based on the standard width mold plate for the MAXUM700® which is about 28.5 inches.
The mold plate for the FORMAX® MAXUM700® is also mounted to the reciprocating driving mechanism by being keyed to a drawbar that is driven at opposite ends by the longitudinally reciprocating drive rods of the driving mechanism. The mold plate includes two spaced apart oblong holes that receive oblong pins that are fixed to the drawbar. Side locks or cams rotate to overlie side recesses formed in the mold plate.
Due to the difference in lateral dimensions between the F-26™ and MAXUM700® mold plates and the difference in the shape and number of keys, the F-26™ mold plates are not currently compatible with the MAXUM700® forming machine.
A processing plant can be set up to run molding machines to mold patties of variable selected thickness, shape or food material content. Accordingly, the processing plant may already have an assortment of F-26™ mold plates to be fit into the F-26™ patty-forming machine. Currently, if the processing plant wishes to replace the F-26™ with a MAXUM700® machine, the F-26™ mold plates are not compatible. Additionally, some processing plants may wish to upgrade from one or more F-26™ machines to one or more MAXUM700® machines, or run a combination of F-26™ and MAXUM700® machines.
The present inventors have recognized that it would be desirable for a user of the MAXUM700® patty-forming to be able to reuse F-26™ mold plates, which the user may already have in inventory because of prior use of the F-26™ machine, in a MAXUM700® machine.
The present inventors have recognized that it would be desirable for a user of the MAXUM700® patty-forming machine to be able to use F-26™ mold plates, which the user already has in inventory because of current use of the F-26™ machine, interchangeably in a MAXUM700® machine.